Whether you take a “distribution” (aka free-cash-flow) in the form of a dividend, interest payment, capital gain, maturing ladder of a CD, etc, you are still taking the same amount of cash out of your portfolio. Don’t fall for the trap of sub optimizing your overall portfolio’s performance because your chasing some unimportant trait called “income”.
According to financial planners and advisors, retired people could invest in Debt accrual funds for higher post-tax income. These funds are more useful to those retired people who are in the higher income tax bracket (20% and 30%). For those who are in the 10% tax bracket, and also those who do not have to pay any taxes, bank fixed deposits are equally good, they say.
I enjoy how you lay out real numbers. A lot of people wouldn’t do that. While you admit that you are somewhat conservative, I think the $1M in CD’s is just too conservative. Assuming you don’t need the cash flow now (which you say you just save anyways) then all that could be invested for potentially higher returns. For example, what if you bought San Francisco real estate along the way instead of CD’s. Or, an SP500 Index fund. I bet your average return would have been higher than 3.75%. Sure you could lose it, but the point is if you don’t need the cash flow now, you should try to increase that nut as high as possible until the day you actually need it. Your nut could be $5M right now if you had invested in asset classes other than CD’s for the last 14 years. Don’t get me wrong, you have done far better than me, but I guess I would take a little more risk if you don’t rely on that cash flow.
If we invest this financial capital well enough and do not lose it or spend it all along the way, it may even grow at a compound rate that matches or exceeds inflation and taxes. Most of us reinvest inflows from financial capital during the accumulation years. Our investment vehicles tend to be geared for total return and capital gains instead of monthly income generation.
A lot of people don’t even know about my life insurance business, but it’s a huge part of my success. Like my other big projects, however, I started it to help people. Over the years, I’ve seen so many people who are uninsured or underinsured. For whatever reason, they don’t understand the importance of life insurance. Worse, they don’t understand how affordable it is for the average family.
Inspired by you, I started a tax/personal finance a month ago. I figured if it works out, it will create a good side income for me. If not, at least I can use the blog to build my brand as a tax lawyer. Other than that, my current investment portfolio is heavily focused on index funds because of its historical performance and tax & cost efficiency. Right now my dividends income every year is about $14,000. I also have a good amount of unrealized capital gains every year from my investment, though I don’t count the capital gains as my passive income as they are paper gains, at least for now.
While some people tend to use a savings account at the same bank where they have their checking account, make sure it's a high-interest one, not just a convenient one. "For short-term savings that you have parked in a savings account for easy access, you can often make more money just by researching whether you're getting the best interest rate," Goudreau says. "While many traditional banks offer as little as 0.1% interest on savings, online banks tend to offer higher interest rates. By switching to an account that offers 1% interest or more, you would be making 10 times as much just by moving the money."
Capital growth in your portfolio can offset the eroding effect of inflation. But any capital gains that exceed the overall inflationary effect can be drawn off to augment your portfolio income. Of course, you must first generate those gains by making thoughtful investment selections. While allowing strongly growing assets to keep doing that, it is prudent not to allow them to become a dangerously large part of your portfolio lest they go off the boil. So if you selectively trim profitable positions along the way, you can boost your income.
I get excited every paycheck because I know my investments are going to increase by a decent chunk. I use Mint to keep a close eye on what the current value is at and make goal marks to hit. Every time I hit a goal, I do a little happy dance and decide what I want my next marker to be and when I want to hit it by. I’m nowhere close to being financially independent or even debt free, but it’s exciting to see the ground work being laid and watching it grow.
Another resource-rich article from you. Thank you. Have recently started blogging as well, so traffic is slowly picking up to my site. I’ve enjoyed many of your articles, so I’ve added a link on my blogroll to your site, so that they can be shared with my readers as well. Head on over, and feel free to visit the abovementioned url 🙂 Keep up the good work, and I’ll continue to visit and enjoy your articles and info.
You can find dividend stocks using Google Finance Stock Screener which is free to use. Set the search criteria for the P/E Ratio, and Dividend yield (shown as a percentage) criteria. You can set minimum and maximum values; in the dividend yield box, set it between 2 and 100. This will search for stocks that pay dividends worth between 2-100% of the current stock price.
I just graduated college in May and was fortunate enough to secure an entry level consulting position that pays 55k/yr (a little less than ~35k after 401K, other benefits, and the lovely taxes that government bestows upon us). I started from “scratch” with my finances and have ~$2.3k in an online savings account. Since starting work a couple of weeks ago, I’ve had an aggressive savings plan (saving around ~40-50% of my monthly income). However, I’m going to become even more aggressive and live off 1 paycheck a month (and save the other paycheck) like you have suggested in many of your blog posts.
Since the early 1960s, successive governments have implemented various schemes to alleviate poverty, under central planning, that have met with partial success.[342] In 2005, the government enacted the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), guaranteeing 100 days of minimum wage employment to every rural household in all the districts of India.[343] In 2011, it was widely criticised and beset with controversy for corrupt officials, deficit financing as the source of funds, poor quality of infrastructure built under the programme, and unintended destructive effects.[344][345][346] Other studies suggest that the programme has helped reduce rural poverty in some cases.[347][348] Yet other studies report that India's economic growth has been the driver of sustainable employment and poverty reduction, though a sizeable population remains in poverty.[349][350]
​Udemy is an online platform that lets its user take video courses on a wide array of subjects. Instead of being a consumer on Udemy you can instead be a producer, create your own video course, and allow users to purchase it. This is a fantastic option if you are highly knowledgeable in a specific subject matter. This can also be a great way to turn traditional tutoring into a passive income stream!
If you have a blog or other type of site, you can build affiliate links to different services on the website. Many people use Amazon as an affiliate partner. For example, if you are a beauty blogger writing about different products, you can set up Amazon affiliate links on your blog so that whenever someone buys the product you mention on Amazon, you receive a percentage of the sale. Amazon is not the only affiliate partner out there. Here is good, in-depth information on affiliate marketing.
I run several online businesses now (all it takes to start one is a domain, hosting, and maybe incorporation). There are two notable ones. The first is meal plan membership site called $5 Meal Plan that I co-founded with Erin Chase of $5 Dinners. The second is the umbrella of blogs I run, including this one and Scotch Addict. They pay me ordinary income as well as qualified distributions since I'm a partner.

Investing in coins and collectibles: Buffalo nickels and Spiderman comic books are good examples of coins and collectibles that can rise in value, and thus offer opportunity for passive income investors. You'll need to get up to speed on the value of any coin or collectible under consideration, but once you do so, you're on the way to price appreciation on a commodity you'll be paying a lower price to buy, and will garner a higher price when you sell.

This brings us back to the baby boomers. Will the boomers display the same pattern since our current data represents the behavior of prior generations? Consensus opinion suggests they may not benefit from the same amount of social capital as the prior generation. However, there is evidence — driven by the size of their demographic cohort — to suggest that much of the existing pool of financial capital will be concentrated with the baby boomers.
Great post Jim. While it is convenient to lump the entire dividend income as one passive stream, in reality, it is several. If you have 30 companies across 10 major industry sectors, each paying you dividends, then you can consider having 30 streams or at least 10 passive streams, from each of the diverse industry sectors. I find this more diverse than relying on rental income from one investment property tied to one location and one good tenant. Your point about website is absolutely valid – will be great to have Ten Factorial Rocks worth 7 figures in less than 5 years as you have done!
You can select any of the above-mentioned, based on your interest, skill, and capability to generate a second income source. However, these are just to name a few, there exist multiple ways to generate a secondary income channel. You just need to identify the right one, which suits you the best. Remember there is no shortcut to success and you need to work hard to be successful and rich in the long run!
Business Income: Contrasting to the self-employed ones, the business owners do not do all the work on themselves. In fact they get things done by different set of people working for them and they run the business. They create a system which then functions smoothly even with minimal supervision. This calls for a much less risky position and allows you time to build more and more income sources for yourselves.
India became the world's third-largest producer of electricity in 2013 with a 4.8% global share in electricity generation, surpassing Japan and Russia.[224] By the end of calendar year 2015, India had an electricity surplus with many power stations idling for want of demand.[225] The utility electricity sector had an installed capacity of 303 GW as of May 2016 of which thermal power contributed 69.8%, hydroelectricity 15.2%, other sources of renewable energy 13.0%, and nuclear power 2.1%.[226] India meets most of its domestic electricity demand through its 106 billion tonnes of proven coal reserves.[227] India is also rich in certain alternative sources of energy with significant future potential such as solar, wind and biofuels (jatropha, sugarcane). India's dwindling uranium reserves stagnated the growth of nuclear energy in the country for many years.[228] Recent discoveries in the Tummalapalle belt may be among the top 20 natural uranium reserves worldwide,[229][230][231][needs update] and an estimated reserve of 846,477 metric tons (933,081 short tons) of thorium[232] – about 25% of world's reserves – are expected to fuel the country's ambitious nuclear energy program in the long-run. The Indo-US nuclear deal has also paved the way for India to import uranium from other countries.[233]
Writing an e-book is very popular among bloggers, as many have noted that “it's just a bunch of blog posts put together!” You will not only have to make an investment of time and energy to create the e-book, but market it correctly. However, if marketed correctly (through blogging affiliates in your niche, for example), you could have residual sales that last a very long time.
When I started building my architecture-related business in 2008, I made my first dollar through advertising. I’d spent a lot of time and money building the site and getting traffic. Then one day I threw an ad on the site one day, and I made $1.18. Sure, I could find that much under my couch cushions—but that’s not the point! The point is that I was able to build something online, put an ad up, and make money without having to do anything. I learned it was possible, and it motivated me to move forward.
India has a fast-growing medical tourism sector of its health care economy, offering low-cost health services and long-term care.[256][257] In October 2015, the medical tourism sector was estimated to be worth US$3 billion. It is projected to grow to $7–8 billion by 2020.[258] In 2014, 184,298 foreign patients traveled to India to seek medical treatment.[259]
Hannah UnplannedFinance That’s a good way of putting it, Hannah. I would say it’s better to get into the investing game before an emergency comes up, of course, so that your investment income is a bit more stable (hopefully). They’re good parts to include in your whole plan, which should be a balanced one. I was coming at this from more of a “how to prepare” perspective.
Purchasing a rental property is another common way that individual generate an income stream. It is very similar to investing, in that you take a sum of money to purchase the property, and the property returns a cash flow – rent. You do have expenses related to this that are different from investing, such as a mortgage, utilities, property taxes, etc, which all must be taken into consideration when calculating a return on rental property.
I am 30 years old and am retired. Previously, I made a modest salary as an Army officer. I own three duplexes and a quadplex in central Texas (10 rental units in all), and each of the properties provide me with net rental yields in excess of 15%. The last deal is actually an infinite return as my partner paid the down payment in return for a 50/50 split on a property that would otherwise provide a net rental yield of 18%. The above net rental yields also factor in an excellent property management team who manages my properties while I pursue other investment opportunities. To date, I have never interacted with any of my tenants nor have I ever had to personally deal with any maintenance issues.
Varolo is an advertising campaign that allows major corporations (like Coca Cola, Lysol, and others) to reach their target audiences with a high return on investment. Major corporations are desperately trying to find new ways to advertise to people as the newspaper continues to decline in demand and in an age of DVR. Varolo is the newest opportunity that actually pays you, the one being advertised to, to watch their advertisements. You can join the campaign and earn a little extra spending money by viewing and rating commercials and even trailers for major motion pictures. While the trick is to devote 5 to 10 minutes of each day rating what you see, you should also be motivated to invite others along through Facebook, Twitter and other social media so that you can increase what you profit each week.

Mining contributed $63 billion (3% of GDP) and employed 20.14 million people (5% of the workforce) in 2016.[153] India's mining industry was the fourth-largest producer of minerals in the world by volume, and eighth-largest producer by value in 2009.[268] In 2013, it mined and processed 89 minerals, of which four were fuel, three were atomic energy minerals, and 80 non-fuel.[269] The government-owned public sector accounted for 68% of mineral production by volume in 2011–12.[270]

Online learning platforms have become extremely popular in recent years with people using platforms like Coursera, Lynda, and Udemy for learning courses about their specific interests. If you are knowledgeable in any field, whether it's web programming, photography or digital marketing, you can create a course on platforms like Udemy or Unacademy and earn money when users register for them.

India has an underground economy, with a 2006 report alleging that India topped the worldwide list for black money with almost $1,456 billion stashed in Swiss banks. This would amount to 13 times the country's total external debt.[385][386] These allegations have been denied by the Swiss Banking Association. James Nason, the Head of International Communications for the Swiss Banking Association, suggested "The (black money) figures were rapidly picked up in the Indian media and in Indian opposition circles, and circulated as gospel truth. However, this story was a complete fabrication. The Swiss Bankers Association never published such a report. Anyone claiming to have such figures (for India) should be forced to identify their source and explain the methodology used to produce them." A recent step taken by Prime Minister Modi, on 8 November 2016, involved the demonetization of all 500 and 1000 rupee bank notes (replaced by new 500 and 2000 rupee notes) in order to return black money into the economy.[387][388]
Civil aviation in India traces its beginnings to 18 February 1911, when Henri Pequet, a French aviator, carried 6,500 pieces of mail on a Humber biplane from Allahabad to Naini.[197] Later on 15 October 1932, J.R.D. Tata flew a consignment of mail from Karachi to Juhu Airport. His airline later became Air India and was the first Asian airline to cross the Atlantic Ocean as well as first Asian airline to fly jets.[198]
As the third-largest economy in the world in PPP terms, India has attracted foreign direct investment (FDI).[301] During the year 2011, FDI inflow into India stood at $36.5 billion, 51.1% higher than the 2010 figure of $24.15 billion. India has strengths in telecommunication, information technology and other significant areas such as auto components, chemicals, apparels, pharmaceuticals, and jewellery. Despite a surge in foreign investments, rigid FDI policies[302] were a significant hindrance. Over time, India has adopted a number of FDI reforms.[301] India has a large pool of skilled managerial and technical expertise. The size of the middle-class population stands at 300 million and represents a growing consumer market.[303]

Freelancing is basically a kind of work where people are self-employed as they take projects and some piece of work from some company or person but they are not part of that company or organization. As opposed to a regular salary job where the payments are fixed and monthly, freelancing projects/assignments are paid per case basis. Hence a freelancer is not supposed to work full time for the company/person, instead, they just need to finish only a specific task. Freelancing can be a full-time career for many professionals. And the most amazing part of freelancing is that it is not limited to a particular domain, from content to coding, freelance jobs are available in every domain. In India, Freelancing is not considered as a highly paid job, but that’s not true. Your earning capacity depends on your quality and quantity of work. If you want to earn more apart from your full-time salaried job, freelancing can be a great option for you. There are many online websites where you can find a freelancing job. You just need to give time to select and get a good project/assignment.

Sonme months back, I heard the founder of Tastykhana.in in a TIE talk, where he shared that when they desperately needed some money in the starting years of their business, that time – one of the employee of an IT company put in Rs 1 lac in their business and within a year or two, he got back 20 lacs return through an exit option when they got funding later (it was something like this, if not exact)

Now I’ve been using Swagbucks for a while and have found the money works out to just under $2 an hour so this isn’t something that’s going to make you rich. You’d have to work 2,500 hours to make $5,000 so that’s about three and a half months, non-stop. The thing with Swagbucks though is you can do it when you’re doing something else so I flip through surveys and other stuff while I’m cooking dinner or flipping channels.

3. Start as soon as possible. Building a livable passive-income stream takes a tremendously long time, largely because of declining interest rates since the late 1980s. Gone are the days of making a 5%-plus return on a short-term CD or savings account. Today, the best 12-month CD is at 2.5%, and the best money-market rate is about 1.85%, which is not bad, considering such rates were below 0.5% just a couple of years ago. Know that every $100 you save can generate at least $2.5 in passive income.
India liberalised its FDI policy in 2005, allowing up to a 100% FDI stake in ventures. Industrial policy reforms have substantially reduced industrial licensing requirements, removed restrictions on expansion and facilitated easy access to foreign technology and investment. The upward growth curve of the real-estate sector owes some credit to a booming economy and liberalised FDI regime. In March 2005, the government amended the rules to allow 100% FDI in the construction sector, including built-up infrastructure and construction development projects comprising housing, commercial premises, hospitals, educational institutions, recreational facilities, and city- and regional-level infrastructure.[304] Between 2012 and 2014, India extended these reforms to defence, telecom, oil, retail, aviation, and other sectors.[305][306]
One of the easiest ways to get exposure to dividend stocks is to buy ETFs like DVY, VYM, and NOBL or index funds. You can also pay an algorithmic advisor like Wealthfront to automatically invest your money for you at a low fee. In the long run, it is very hard to outperform any index, therefore, the key is to pay the lowest fees possible while being invested in the market. Wealthfront charges $0 in fees for the first $15,000 and only 0.25% for any money over $10,000. Invest your idle money cheaply, instead of letting it lose purchasing power due to inflation. The key is to invest regularly.
Thanks for your ideas I love them, also agriculture investment can be nice like tomato hothouse with half the produce for the grower and the sales profit for the grower The genocide against the international Japanese community some 2 million in the European Union at least can break the world economy and leave the One Sunrise War for True Japanese Survival the only alternative
What are your thoughts on an Immediate Annuity as a passive income vehicle? I suppose it’s not a great investment since you never get your principal back, but the risk is zero and the cash flow is fairly good, approaching 6% currently. And, since you are guaranteed payments for life, you may not care that you never see your principal again anyway since you’ll be dead!

For those of you who don’t want to come up with a $220,000 downpayment and a $900,000 mortgage to buy the median home in SF or NYC, who don’t want to deal with tenants or remodeling, and who wants to not do any work after the investment is made, check out Fundrise. They are my favorite real estate crowdsourcing company founded in 2012 and based in Washington DC. They are pioneers in the eREIT product offering and they’re raising an Opportunity Fund to take advantage of new tax favorable laws.

Amazing article Jim. Jammed packed with great information and inspiration for a finance blogger looking to find ways to diversify income streams. Building up your capital, achieved through saving more than you earn as you described, will open doors to a lot of activities in the future. The name of the game is putting your savings to work to turn expenses and idle cash into income producing assets. It isn’t easy when you are starting from $0, but through discipline and time you will eventually be able to achieve your goals and begin using the methods you described to diversify your income streams.